swingbeat: 2/26: Windhaven (George R. R. Martin and Lisa Tuttle)

Windhaven was written by George R. R. Martin and Lisa Tuttle. It wasn't as good as his seminal work, "A Game of Thrones", but it was not bad. I blame it on either:

1. He wrote it 20 years ago

Or

2. He wrote it with another author.

Windhaven takes place on another planet, named Windhaven, where the air density is low enough such that people can fly with wings. The flyers on this planet are considered to be upper class, and they inherit their metal wings from their parents. The wings come from the remnants of the original starship that crashlanded on the planet.

The flyers on this planet are valuable because they are the fastest mode of message-bearing. There are no telephones. Sailing is possible on this world, but the seas are very dangerous because of the wind and giant sea creatures.

Given this backdrop, we are presented with Maris. Maris is a woman who was adopted by a flyer, and loves to fly. But then the flyer conceives a child, so Maris is about to lose her chance at inheriting the wings. Her stepbrother Coll, however, doesn't care to fly - he wishes to be a singer (bard), to travel the seas and sing his songs.

There are three parts to this story - it is really about the life of Maris, more than anything. The first part is about how Maris attempts to buck tradition and get herself the wings that her stepbrother eschews. I'd go into the other two parts, but to speak of them would spoil part 1.

It's a pretty good read. The imagery and story isn't as details as George R. R. Martin's "A Game of Thrones", but it's worth taking a look.

Recommended.